..續本文上一頁n, more intelligent and resourceful, hurries off to fetch a boat and sails to the rescue. Thus, both persons escape drowning.

　　又智度論雲。譬如二人。各有親眷。爲水所溺。一人情急。直入水救。爲無方便力故。彼此俱沒。一人有方便。往取船筏。乘之救接。悉皆得脫水溺之難。

　　“Newly aspiring Bodhisattvas are like the first inpidual who still lacks the power of Tolerance (of Non-Rebirth) and cannot save sentient beings. Only those Bodhisattvas who remain close to the Buddhas and attain that Tolerance can substitute for the Buddhas and ferry countless sentient beings across, just like the person who has the boat.”

　　新發意菩薩。亦複如是如是。未得忍力。不能救衆生。爲此常須近佛。得無生忍已。方能救衆生。如得船者。

　　The Perfection of Wisdom Treatise goes on to state: “This is not unlike a young child who should not leave his mother, lest he fall into a well, drown in the river or die of starvation; or a young bird whose wings are not fully developed. It must bide its time, hopping from branch to branch, until it can fly afar, leisurely and unimpeded.

　　又論雲。譬如嬰兒。不得離母。若也離母。或墮坑井。渴乳而死。又如鳥子。翅羽未成。秖得依樹傅枝。不能遠去。翅翮成就。方能飛空。自在無礙。

　　“Ordinary persons who lack the Tolerance of Non-Birth should limit themselves to Buddha Recitation, to achieve one-pointedness of Mind. Once that goal is reached, at the time of death, they will certainly be reborn in the Pure Land. Having seen Amitabha Buddha and reached the Tolerance of Non-Birth, they can steer the boat of that Tolerance into the sea of Birth and Death, to ferry sentient beings across and accomplish countless Buddha deeds at will.”

　　凡夫無力。唯得專念阿彌陀佛。使成叁昧。以業成故。臨終斂念得生。決定不疑。見彌陀佛。證無生忍已。還來叁界。乘無生忍船。救苦衆生。廣施佛事。任意自在。

　　For these reasons, compassionate practitioners who wish to teach and convert sentient beings in hell, or enter the sea of Birth and Death, should bear in mind the causes and conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land. This is referred to as the “Easy Path of Practice” in the Commentary on the Ten Stages of the Bodhisattvas.

　　故論雲。遊戲地獄行者。生彼國。得無生忍已。還入生死國。教化地獄受苦衆生。以是因緣。求生淨土。願識其教。故十住婆沙論。名易行道也。

　　Question 2 第二疑

　　All phenomena are by nature empty, always unborn (Non-Birth), equal and still. Are we not going against this truth when we abandon this world, seeking rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss

　　 The (Vimalakirti) Sutra teaches that “to be reborn in the Pure Land, you should first purify your own Mind; only when the Mind is pure, will the Buddha lands be pure.” Are not Pure Land followers going against this truth

　　問。諸法體空。本來無生。平等寂滅。今乃舍此求彼。生西方彌陀淨土。豈不乖理哉。又經雲。若求淨土。先淨其心。心淨故。即佛土淨。此雲何通。

　　Answer

　　This question involves two principles and can be answered on two levels. (A) On the level of generality, if you think that seeking rebirth in the Pure Land means “leaving here and seeking there”, and is therefore incompatible with the Truth of Equal Thusness, are you not committing the same mistake by grasping at this Saha World and not seeking rebirth in the Pure Land, i.e., “leaving there and grasping here”

　　 If, on the other hand, you say, “I am neither seeking rebirth there, nor do I wish to remain here,” you fall into the error of nihilism.

　　答。釋有二義。一者總答。二者別答。總答者。汝若言求生西方彌陀淨土。則是舍此求彼。不中理者。汝執住此。不求西方。則是舍彼著此。此還成病。不中理也。又轉計雲。我亦不求生彼。亦不求生此者。則斷滅見。

　　The Diamond Sutra states in this connection: “Subhuti, ... do not have such a thought. Why

　　 Because one who develops the Supreme Enlightened Mind does not advocate the (total) annihilation (of the marks of the dharmas.)” (Bilingual Buddhist Series, Vol. 1. Taipei: Buddhist Cultural Service, 1962, p. 130.)

　　故金剛般若經雲。須菩提。汝若作是念。發阿耨菩提者。說諸法斷滅相。莫作是念。何以故。發菩提心者。于法不說斷滅相。

　　(B) On the level of Specifics, since you have brought up the truth of Non-Birth and the Pure Mind, I would like to give the following explanation. Non-Birth is precisely the truth of No-Birth and No-Death. No-Birth means that all dharmas are false aggregates, born of causes and conditions, with no Self-Nature. Therefore, they have no real “birth nature” o…

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